![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/silicon-valley-tour-image-students.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA select group of aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators have returned to Curtin ready to take on the world after a study tour of Silicon Valley in the US.<\/p>\n
The group, comprising current students and alumni, enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience, immersed in the culture, education and business of the world-famous innovation hub.<\/p>\n
The 10-day tour from 1 February 2020 included workshops, classes and lectures at three prestigious universities \u2013 Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Santa Cruz \u2013 as well as industry visits to global business giants such as Facebook, Apple and Google.<\/p>\n
The students gained valuable insights from leading experts and academics, joining PhD candidates for lunch and swapping stories over coffee with venture capitalists. They shook hands and brushed shoulders with executives and business founders, expanding their networks, all while taking in the sights and sounds of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, we learned how to innovate our respective worlds while also having the chance to explore the beautiful city,\u201d says engineering PhD student, Michael Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only did we stand in the place that birthed many great minds, careers and companies, we bonded with each other through a mutual eagerness to learn, embrace, discuss, share and push creative boundaries,\u201d adds marketing PhD student, Madison Pasquale.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The theme of the study tour was innovation and international business. Some of the topics covered included: social innovation, humanising companies, and marketing a global brand.<\/p>\n
The students were treated to personal stories of success and hardship from pioneers before them. But the top secret to innovation shared by several of the world\u2019s brightest minds came as a bit of a surprise to them: failure is a key ingredient for success<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cA surprising concept was the culture of openness, collective benefit and acceptance of failure \u00ad\u2013 to the point of being encouraged. Going forward I\u2019m energised to push through obstacles and think of failure as the indicator for success,\u201d says PhD student, Alishum Ali.<\/p>\n Rebecca Lauchlan, who is studying a Master of International Business and Entrepreneurship, agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I have walked away with less fear of failure and can’t wait for what’s to come,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The students quickly got swept up in the cool, creative culture in \u2018The Valley\u2019. They saw how human interaction, particularly with technology, could be used to fuel an ecosystem of innovation.<\/p>\n During their tour of Facebook, they walked past walls covered in inspirational quotes, spoke to people who were genuinely happy to be at work and finished off with a multicultural buffet dinner in one of Facebook\u2019s cafeterias.<\/p>\n \u201cAn inside look into\u00a0Facebook and Google provided insights into how a successful organisation should be run. I hope to replicate the fun and collaborative environments\u00a0I witnessed within the\u00a0PhD offices,\u201d says Michael Brown.<\/p>\n \u201cThe setup of the Facebook campus reminded of Disneyland, whose tagline is \u2018the happiest place on earth\u2019. The tour guide then told me it was designed by the same designers as Disneyland, with the aim of creating a workspace that instils happiness in employees.\u201d says Senaida D\u2019Souza.<\/p>\n D\u2019Souza found understanding the value of culture particularly relevant to her bachelor degree in human resource management and psychology.<\/p>\n \u201cI have furthered my resolve on the importance of human resources in developing an innovative culture and ecosystem, and will be applying these learnings in my career,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Since returning to Perth, the students are excited to take their learnings into the next stages of their study and careers. It was an experience they won\u2019t soon forget.<\/p>\n \u201cI highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in the topics of innovation and sustainability as you\u2019ll interact with world leading executives and students, and be truly inspired to take on challenges and see them through,\u201d says accounting PhD student, Bonnie Mu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A cohort of Curtin\u2019s most enterprising students had the experience of a lifetime in the US tech hub.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4388,"featured_media":8025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-8024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"International Business and Entrepreneurship","qualification":"Master of International Business and Entrepreneurship","link":"https:\/\/study.curtin.edu.au\/offering\/course-pg-master-of-international-business-and-entrepreneurship--mc-mibe\/","description":"Learn how to succeed as a leader, development manager or start-up founder in global business.","faculty":"Curtin Business School"},{"title":"Entrepreneurship","qualification":"Bachelor of Commerce (Entrepreneurship)","link":"https:\/\/study.curtin.edu.au\/offering\/course-ug-entrepreneurship-major-bcom--mjru-entrp\/","description":"Entrepreneurs have ambition, an ability to think outside the box and love a challenge. 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<\/p>\n